Conquering the Barbarian Altanis: Session 89
Adventurers
| Character | Class | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Hagar the Hewer | Dwarf level 3 | Imagine Conan as dwarf. |
| Ambros | Cleric level 3 | Follower of Aniu, Lord of Time. |
| Bob the Dwarf | Dwarf level 1 | Midget with big beard in search of an adventure. |
| Pandora | Thief level 1 | Seeking to build a new life. |
Flowerbloom 8th, Earthday
Hagar, our entrepreneurial dwarf, decided to lead a one day expedition while other adventurers were resting and recuperating. Thus he assembled a small team consisting of Ambros the Cleric, whom had snapped out of his previous predicament, Bob the Dwarf, and Pandora, the newly recruited thief.
They were following up on a rumour Bob picked up. Now they stood in front of a barrow in the shape of great round tumulus, spanning some 150 feet in diameter. Inside a nasty dwarf should be resting with a mighty warhammer.
“I must have it!” Bob kept repeating.
The stone slab was pushed to the side, flanked by freshly excavated earth. Was someone faster than our special operations team?
Hagar led the descent down a flight of fragile siltstone steps. It was narrow, barely space for one person to advance. Ambros held the torch, shining light from the rear.
“Bree-Yark!”
As Hagar barged into a small chamber confidently, he was jumped by four goblins whom had been alerted by the light. Unfortunately for them, the Dwarf blocked and evaded all their attacks. In fact, he deflected one of the goblin's spear charge so well that the monster ended up killing one of it's own instead! Pathetic critters stood no chance, and were summarily cut down.
The chamber itself was barely interesting. Two wooden statues of warrior were flanking doors going deeper down. There were no other valuables.
Hagar took the lead once more, this time a bit less carefree. Another small chamber, this time with doors on each wall. Three goblins jumped him, but were no match for the prepared dwarf backed by another prepared dwarf.
Constrained fighting space did not work against heavily armed adventurers. In fact, Hagar pushed forth, and enabled others to spill into the chamber and join in on the violent fiesta.
Four exits out of this chamber should not really be called doors, but rather bloated and warped wooden planks jammed into doorways. They had no handles nor any visible hinges. The only obvious way to open them was to either hack or smash them.
In fact, east doors were half hacked. The chamber beyond was floored with packed earth. The burial hoard was piled along the walls, alas, much of it decayed. They could spot two rotting chariots as well as an assortments of shiny objects. But to see more, they had to get closer. Party checked for any traps, and finding none, barged straight in.
Emboldened by the lack of opposition, all four adventurers begun sorting through the hoard. Noteworthy treasure they recovered from the pile were six cups carved from red-gold amber, three short swords with pommel-nuts and scabbards decorated with tiger’s-eye knotwork, and three silver ingots, each approximately 7,5 pounds heavy.
As they were rummaging through the goods, a wolf made of soil animated and surprised the party. Their weapons passed right through the soil, leaving no lasting damage. That is until Hagar struck with his magical spear. Soon the beast was no more, but not before it pounced hard on the dwarf, bringing him down to half of his strength.
“Let's arrange everything valuable here, finish exploring, and then take it all out.”
“Sounds like a good plan.”
“These ingots are suspicious. They are too hard to be silver...”
Adventurers moved back to previous chamber, and then smashed through north doors. Hagar led the charge, while Bob closely followed. Pandora and Ambros stood behind, ready to intervene.
Hagar the Hewer sent the plank flying, going through it like unstoppable force incarnate. Although he heard Bob screaming behind him, he had no time to look back. Straight up ahead of him was a chamber lined with carved bronzewood pillars and tiled with well-fitted flagstones.
Dead centre in the floor was a burial trench. Its denizen, a stout dwarf with tautly drawn skin and eyes full of hatred, clenching a massive two handed warhammer, leaped out and smashed Hagar's head with one swift hammerfall.
Pandora watched in horror as Bob fell through the ground just Hagar broke the doors. She too heard Bob's cries, but was preoccupied seeing her mightiest warrior's brain and skull splattered just up ahead.
She quickly pulled a dagger and hurled it at the warhammer wielding monster. What a perfect headshot it was! And how amazingly little did it do to stop it!
The disturbed dead jumped over the pit, huffing and puffing out of hatred rather than lack of breath. Pandora ran up to Ambros. The cleric clenched his weapon and braced himself. He tried turning once, but it was an impotent call.
Disturbed dwarf swung the mighty warhammer towards the Thief, her fate sealed. Ambros stepped forth, quicker than the monster, exploiting the opening given. His swing struck true, smashing the undead's skull.
“Help... help...”
Bob laid at the bottom of a ten foot deep pit, covered in flagstones that had given in under him. He was broken but alive.
Pandora and Ambros pulled him out. The latter healed the dwarf. Then they scrubbed the tomb of all the valuables.
“Can I see the hammer?” Woooow...”
Wolfhammer, as Bob came to call it, is a two handed warhammer with a spiralling haft hardened bronze and a grip of blackened iron wrapped in wolfskin. Its head is composed of two stylized predator's heads of bronze, “furred” with gold and silver wirework and eyes inlaid with amber. Out of the gaping, fanged mouths of the beasts protrude the two massive heads of the hammer, cast from iron as strong and polished as fine steel. Later, in Hara, he would learn that it is a magical weapon as well, dealing extra damage to spell-users and their magical constructs.
Finally, the trio wrapped Hagar's corpse in rotting silk, and carried him back to Hara.
Flowerbloom 10th, Spiritday
Ambros accomplished the unthinkable. First, he managed to get an audience with Mavis the Magnificent, the High-Priestess of Poseidon. Second, he convinced her that Hagar is worthy enough to be brought back to life.
He knew damn well that High-Priestess is not moved by money, for she had survived many assassination attempts due to her refusal to Raise merchants' and nobles' rotten offspring. No, Ambros played to the fact that Hagar contributed to Hara's safety on many occasions, in addition to furthering the cause of the Law in the region.
“Poseidon will grant him another chance at life. For that you must accept three divine quests.”
“First, you must bring peace to a restless spirit of wrongfully imprisoned king.”
“Second, you must seek my Sister in Ketche and solve her greatest problem.”
“Third, you must erect a statue of Poseidon facing the sea.”
Ambros, Bob, and Pandora agreed.
Hagar's bloody remains were lowered in the Temple's pool.
The water swirled and gushed and frothed and shook the temple.
Hagar came out, groggy, naked, and wholesome.
Then they accepted the three Divine Quests.
And it was made known to them, in no uncertain terms, that straying away would mean fate worse than death itself.
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